Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Money Magazine

Welcome back. Are you a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full investor? Research says that seeing the glass half full not only makes you happier but also healthier and wealthier. That makes sense given confidence (and capacity) are the main drivers of investing. Feel good about things and you will put plans in place to achieve positive results. Feel bad and you do nothing. Unfortunately, investors will have plenty to worry about in 2019. As our guest economist, Craig James, points out in his column (page 84) the S&P/ASX 200 is a long way off its August high, and the rate at which the Fed has increased interest rates in the US, the relationship between China and the US and slowing global growth will all continue to play on investors’ minds. But the…

PAUL CLITHEROE Paul has been the chairman of Money magazine since its launch. Paul says: “It would be great to have one really nice, custom-tailored suit. I tend to buy the ‘two suits on special’ offers. But the bespoke suits are really expensive and I just can’t bring myself to do it.” TERRY RYDER Terry is the founder of hotspotting.com.au and author of four real estate books. Terry says: “I’ve spent a lot of money on overseas travel throughout my life and right now I have half a dozen bucket-list trips planned in my mind. But currently I’m prioritising investment and debt reduction so I’m forcing myself to delay gratification.” ANNETTE SAMPSON Annette has written extensively on personal finance and she has written several books. Annette says: “There’s a joke…

Many schools are ditching the Dollarmites banking scheme without having a replacement program. If this will affect your family, don’t worry because there’s a do-it-yourself model you can put in place. It works with all banks and relies on the simple concept of having two bank accounts for your kids: one for spending and one for savings. You can ask your bank to link a debit card to your child’s spending account (the card is in your name) and you can pay their pocket money directly into this account. They can then spend their own money using their debit card – under your supervision, of course. It teaches them about earning money and also about spending money in a modern tap-and-go society. Their second account is for their savings –…

SUPERCHARGE YOUR PROPERTY PORTFOLIO  Victor Kumar Wilkinson Publishing RRP$29.99 Author Victor Kumar is the founder of Right Property Group, a leading specialist property strategist and buyers agency, and has a multimillion-dollar property portfolio of his own. The book looks at a number of essential topics for property investors including the importance of goal setting before you begin, how to pick the right area, negotiating, using buyers agents, the biggest property investment mistakes you should avoid and the key steps to renovation and property development. Five readers can win a copy. In 25 words or less, tell us your tip for supercharging your property portfolio. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/winor send entries to Money, GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001. Entries open January 28, 2019 and close February 27, 2019.…

NAME: William York. STATUS: Father of Martha, 18 months. QUESTIONS: What is the best way to set up a budget, increase my mortgage payments, establish financial goals and save? What are the savings options to fund my daughter’s future education? Am I on track for retirement? Is income protection insurance the most appropriate? ANSWERS: Pay off your mortgage as fast as you can. Rather than setting up a plan to pay for Martha’s education, draw down on your mortgage. Budget by using different bank accounts for your goals. You need to increase your income protection cover either with AustralianSuper or a retail product that provides cover until you are 70 if you want to work that long. Reviewing your financial products and services is a smart plan at any age.…

Emma wants to buy a third property but ... Diversification will spread the risk Q I’m 26 years old with a great job. I have two properties (an apartment and a house) and $15,000 in exchange traded funds (ETFs). I recently received an inheritance of $300,000, part of which I used to buy the house. I have $50,000 in a growth superannuation account making great returns. I’ve estimated repayments should I buy a third property and if interest rates rise another 4%, and I can meet repayments of principal and interest on the three properties within my current salary. Should I purchase another investment property, keep the funds in my offset account and wait, or add to my share portfolio? I would like to have children in the next several…

With property prices falling in Sydney and Melbourne but growing strongly in other parts of the country, and a sharemarket that has dropped sharply, this will be a tough year for investors. But there are still pockets of value, and for the eighth year property guru Terry Ryder and the experts at ShareAnalysis reveal where they are. Property winners in 2018 included Newcastle and its neighbours (up to 20%) in NSW and Ballarat (up to 15%) in Victoria. The Top 5 share portfolio endured a volatile year, with returns ranging from 4.3% for Adairs to -26.4% for Mineral Resources.…

1 STANDOUT LOCATION: Queanbeyan: The city benefits from being in NSW (first-home buyers can access NSW incentives) and from also being part of the Canberra metropolitan area – in fact, it’s closer to central Canberra than many ACT suburbs. It’s also cheaper than most Canberra suburbs so first-timers can buy affordably and make the most of the incentives. 2018 reviewed Newcastle: The suburbs of Newcastle, together with neighbouring precincts like Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley, presented the strongest market in NSW in 2018, as predicted. Many locations had double-digit price growth and some topped 20%. If mainstream media and economists could stop obsessing over Sydney prices and clearance rates for a moment, they might notice the vibrant life beyond the big city. Journalists writing their daily beat-ups about the…

4 STANDOUT LOCATION: Stirling: This LGA is at the forefront of the Perth recovery. It maintained a steadier performance than most in the recent downturn and now many suburbs have rising markets. It offers a leisurely seaside lifestyle and includes upmarket Wembley and Mt Lawley, middle-market areas such as Karrinyup and Doubleview, and affordable Balga and Westminster. 2018 reviewed Joondalup: With Perth showing the first signs of price recovery late in 2018, some Joondalup LGA suburbs were among the improvers, with Connolly, Currambine and Sorrento rising 3%-4%. Several suburbs lifted sales activity, pointing to better outcomes in 2019. Multiple factors point to rising prices in Perth in 2019. The underlying Western Australian economy has lifted noticeably, helped by a revival in the resources sector, with jobs being created in significant…

DO: Use your pedals conservatively. “Hard acceleration and braking will use more fuel,” says Ross. “So try to accelerate gently and look ahead to anticipate the flow of traffic. Ease off the gas early and allow your car to slow.” DON’T: Use “angel gear”. “Not only is this very dangerous but coasting downhill in neutral uses more fuel than leaving the car in gear,” warns Ross. Instead, ease off the accelerator and use your momentum. DO: Assess your air-con use. “Air-conditioning can increase fuel use by up to 10%,” says Ross. Try to wind down your windows when moving slower than 80km/h. “Any faster and it’s better to use air-con, as wind resistance will cause the car to use more fuel.” DON’T: Ignore your tank-empty light. “Don’t regularly run the…

Bryce Holdaway and Ben Kingsley are property experts from Empower Wealth Advisory, a specialist advisory practice, host the Property Couch podcast and have also co-authored several books. Their latest book is Make Money Simple Again (Major Street Publishing, RRP $29.95) and looks at the Money SMARTS system in greater detail. Money has five copies to give away. For your chance to win a copy, tell us in 25 words or less your best tip for making money simple. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send your entry to Money magazine, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 2001. Entries open January 28, 2019 and close on February 27, 2019.…

My kids will start their working lives with a big chunk of debt accumulated from the cost of their university courses. They aren’t alone. Over 2.7 million Australians have debts from their higher education qualifications. Total loans reached $54 billion for the 2016-17 financial year, according to the tax office, with the average debt around $20,303, up from $19,396 the year before. Just how much debt depends on what they study. One of my kids had fairly low university fees of around $20,000 because the government at the time encouraged the study of science and reduced the fees to make it more attractive. The other one, who is studying a double degree, will finish university with a daunting $41,000 debt after five years. Certainly, as the cost of degrees climbs,…

DO I REALLY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT? Politics is a moving game but the opinion polls indicate a change of government is definitely a prospect. Labor has announced several policies that, if implemented, could affect our personal finances. SUCH AS? Expect to hear a lot more before the election but, unusually, Labor has already provided details on both its priorities and some more controversial polices. In October, it released its Fair Go Action Plan detailing five policy areas it will pursue if it wins office: • Increased funding for schools and hospitals. It is also committed to ending the freeze on Medicare payments. • Easing pressure on family budgets including tax cuts for average workers, guaranteeing pensions, capping private health insurance premium increases at no more than 2% for…

NSW The state government approved changes to tenancy legislation in 2018. They include: • Tenants allowed to make minor alterations to properties. • Introduction of a new minimum standard for properties. • Tenants enabled to get rectification orders from Fair Trading for repairs. • Restricting rent increases for periodic leases to once a year. • Victims of domestic violence can break a lease with no penalty. The new rules were criticised because they didn’t outlaw no-grounds evictions. They did clarify tenants’ rights and landlords’ obligations but the Tenants’ Union of NSW still has some concerns. “The question mark remains: will you be able to enforce the standards if you can be evicted?” said Leo Patterson Ross, senior policy officer. VIC Last year 130 reforms to tenancy laws were made. The…

1 Liquidity. One of the advantages claimed for ETF investments is the ease of buying and selling through the ASX. You can do it online through a broker. But watch out. Some ETFs are not liquid. How do you tell if an ETF is liquid? Damien Sherman, head of ETF capital markets at Vanguard, says that before you buy an ETF look online at the number of units for sale and the asking price during the day to confirm there is depth. Rather than looking at the size of the ETF’s assets, check out the number of buy and sell orders from other investors and the strength of the market makers or liquidity providers (see point 3) at any one time. 2 Tracking an index. It is important to know…

• 43% of women work part time. • Women working full time earn 18% less than men. • Women take on average five years out of the workforce to care for children or family members, causing their super savings to stagnate and fall behind those of men. • The current 9.5% superannuation guarantee does not enable most women to accrue sufficient savings to fund a comfortable retirement. • An estimated 220,000 women miss out on $125 million of super contributions as they do not meet the requirement to earn $450 a month (before tax) from one employer, as many women have more than one part-time job. Source: Women in Super…

At the end of November last year we were reading headlines saying “Sydney house prices have biggest monthly fall for 14 years and Melbourne close behind”. CoreLogic numbers showed Sydney prices had fallen 8.1% in a year with Melbourne down 5.8%. Melbourne and Sydney between them account for 55% of the Australian housing market by value. The national annual fall in house prices in capital cities was 5.3%. The 8.1% fall in Sydney was the steepest since May 1983 but that hides the city’s peak-to-trough fall, which was even worse at 9.5%. This almost matches the record 9.6% peak-to-trough drop between 1989 and 1991, which notably was during a recession. The observation is that we have had an almost record drop in property prices but this time without a recession.…

Take time out for a cuppa and a winning deal I have been an avid subscriber to Money for seven years now. With a young family at hand, full-time work commitments, rental properties to manage, an SMSF to invest with, insurances to organise and so on, sometimes when my magazine arrives I have only opened the last month’s edition the day before! However, even though the busyness of life is ever present, I ensure that every month I pull at least one project out of Money to improve my family’s budget and finances. In the December-January Best of the Best issue, after reading about the Best Value Mobile Plans – High Usage, I made a cuppa tea at work and simply changed my telco provider from last year’s winner (Moose…

Normally my Christmas Day is overshadowed by heading to my boat Balance early on Boxing Day to race to Hobart. Our route-planning software “expedition” and weather updates tend to leave me a bit preoccupied. Equally, as pretty much anything fatty and yummy consumed after about noon is likely to be regurgitated as we head to sea into the fast-running south currents, even eating is a little restricted. But this year I took a break from bouncing around Bass Strait and headed to the beach with my family, now rapidly growing with my son and his wife announcing they are due to have a baby this year, my middle daughter’s engagement and a couple of bouncing puppies owned by the kids. Rather than focusing on yachting, I could decide on what…

Investments and investment strategies are what superannuation is all about. After all, isn’t the aim to maximise the amount you are saving for retirement? This year will present some challenges with the federal election in the wings, a budget in April and potential changes in the investment climate both locally and internationally. So, what do you need to think of when it comes to your self-managed fund and super? • If you’re making contributions, use them as tax effectively as possible and stay within the caps. • Review the fund’s investment strategy to take in any changes in investment risk, returns on investment and liquidity, and whether insurance has been considered. • If you plan to retire this year, make sure the fund’s cash flow is available for any lump…

Almost all teenagers and two-thirds of primary school-aged children own a tablet or smartphone. So why not use these devices to teach them how to manage money? The Spriggy app goes hand-in-hand with a digital piggy bank. Pocket money can be paid direct to a Spriggy Visa debit card, with the flexibility to set chores in return for an allowance. Parents can choose to be notified when their child uses the card, paving the way for discussions about spending versus saving. According to Spriggy, 77% of families using the app saw a positive change in how their kids handle money. The app costs nothing to download; however, membership, which is essential to have the digital piggy bank, costs $30 per child annually. A 30-day free trial is available.…

Brad Krauskopf measures his success by bumping into people. Not physically walking into them but rather how many he sees and speaks to as he walks around his rapidly growing business empire. In order to be big in his chosen field, Krauskopf needs to meet more members of his Hub Australia co-working community, and the members need to see more of each other too. Simple. It’s no longer enough for today’s office owners to lease floor space and provide basic services such as lighting and cleaning – at least not if their tenants are millennials. The younger generation simply don’t like being pigeonholed as tenants, or shoved into a sterile room for eight hours a day talking only to their workmates. “People have their own space,” Krauskopf explains of how…

In taking stock of his financial wellbeing, William needs to protect one of his biggest assets – and that is his ability to earn an income. If this income comes to an abrupt halt due to a disability caused by sickness or an accident, how would he then be able to cover his living expenses and, importantly, assist with funds to raise and educate Martha? William’s income is expected to be in excess of $2 million over the next 15 to 20 years of his working life. His current income protection cover with AustralianSuper pays $6000 over the next two years. This wouldn’t come close to meeting his needs. Irrespective of whether the decision is to insure through AustralianSuper or another provider, the benefit amount needs to be increased in…

2 STANDOUT LOCATION: Bendigo: Last year’s pick, Ballarat, led the surge in regional centres north of Melbourne and now Bendigo is joining the party, driven by a strong and diverse local economy and good transport links to Melbourne. Affordable prices and above-average yields add to the appeal of Bendigo, where a number of significant national businesses have their headquarters. 2018 reviewed Ballarat: Melbourne buyers of all kinds descended on Ballarat in 2018, pushing prices skywards. Most suburbs grew at least 7% and several were up 10%-15%. Prices remain attractive and the local economy is creating jobs – or you can commute to Melbourne. Generalised reporting of price data – which proclaimed a decline across Melbourne – disguised the reality that some sub-markets had big growth in 2018. Many suburbs in…

5 STANDOUT LOCATION: Port Adelaide: The Port Adelaide-Enfield LGA is one of Australia’s leading municipalities in terms of the number of suburbs with rising sales activity. It offers value for money in a precinct close to the evolving port, which promises both lifestyle and jobs, given that $90 billion in naval construction contracts are focused here, as well as a new government office precinct. 2018 reviewed City of Marion: Suburbs such as O’Halloran Hill (up 10%) and Edwardstown (up 8%) delivered above-average growth in a market driven by proximity to major infrastructure, including university, medical and innovation precincts. Adelaide is underrated and deserves greater consideration. The South Australian economy continues to strengthen, with unemployment falling and strong business sentiment. The state leads the country in high-tech innovation and alternative energy…

Driving 50km into the city each morning for work, Max Cowie, 39, has spent his fair share on petrol over the years. His commute from Schofields, in Sydney’s west, to Darlinghurst was a two-hour, 100km round-trip that had him filling up his Honda MDX SUV twice a week, at roughly $100 a pop. Max (pictured) favoured Caltex fuel stations, so he could utilise Woolworths shopping dockets for savings of 4¢/8¢ a litre. “But to get 8¢ off, though, you had to spend $5 in store,” he recalls. “At first I was just buying chips and lollies at the countertop but I soon learned to get all my milk and bread at the servo. It wasn’t a huge saving, all up, but I was effectively getting free milk and bread.” The…

People are living longer and that means more and more of them – and their families – are having to look at options for retirement living and aged care. The number of people in permanent aged care in Australia is expected to triple in the next 30 years to 700,000 in 2050. Many more are opting to move from their family home into a retirement village and either live completely independently or with some assistance. Some retirement village operators are building facilities that offer different levels of care and residents can move between them as their needs increase. Other older people look at privately owned hostels and boarding houses, which are lightly regulated. Residents must deal directly with the operators. There is also a trend in building new property developments…

If your summer break has brought on a financial hangover and you’re hoping that a balance transfer card will be the answer to your credit card woes, you may need a plan B. Since January this year, credit card providers must be satisfied that you can repay the credit limit at its interest rate within three years under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s voluntary measures. Other changes to kick in include restricting the amount by which you can exceed your credit limit to 10%, making it easier to cancel old credit cards and taking a fairer approach to balance transfers, such as allowing an interest-free period on a new purchase. These rules, especially the three-year limit, could make it difficult for some people to secure new credit. Let’s say you…

Since its first listing went live in San Francisco in 2008, accommodation-sharing site Airbnb now claims it assists an average of 2 million people to find nightly accommodation globally. Moreover, the platform offers 5 million properties for rent in 81,000 cities in 191 countries. Certainly, Airbnb comes with risks, as shown by a recently reported case of a US owner who was forced to pay her “nightmare” guests to get them out of her property. However, if millions of holidaymakers globally trust their nightly accommodation to Airbnb, it’s worth some consideration as a business opportunity that could potentially add cash to your family budget or retirement savings. How it works Airbnb is an online marketplace enabling hosts (owners) to rent their properties or spare rooms to guests. Whether you have…

Direct debits can certainly be a convenient way to pay your bills. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to pay by the due date – although you do have to remember to have money in your account – and some providers will even offer you discounts for using direct debit. Problems can arise, though, when it is time to cancel your direct debit. Maybe you have switched energy providers or maybe you’re sick of paying for a gym membership you no longer use. Whatever the reason, you are well within your rights to stop the direct debit but sometimes it might be easier said than done. The process will be different depending on whether the payment is coming out of your bank account or out of your debit or…

Buying and paying off the family home is one of the main ways Australians build wealth. So if you rent your family home long term, either out of necessity or by choice, you need to invest in other ways. It’s particularly helpful if you can get into the residential market as an investor with a plan to quit the workforce and renting at the same time, because research shows if you enter retirement living in your own fully paid home you’ll be significantly better off. The rapid increase in house prices in recent years, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, has widened the gap in living standards in retirement between those who own the property they live in and those who rent. When the Association of Superannuation Funds (ASFA) crunched the…

Liquid investments can be tricky when markets melt down. AustralianSuper, our biggest superannuation fund by funds under management, has warned its members that it could freeze its direct property option for up to two years in “exceptional circumstances”. So far AustralianSuper is the only fund to warn members about the scenario, according to research house SuperRatings. It sent a chill through its ranks that there could be a serious market event on the horizon. The fund’s alert is a wake-up call about what can happen if superannuation fund members and other investors have too much of their money in illiquid investments such as direct property, infrastructure and private equity. Compared with listed property and shares, it is harder to buy and sell direct property and it can’t happen simply by pressing…

Sometimes you get things right. As the stockmarket soared last year, I became increasingly alarmed about companies’ ability to match the share price growth with earnings. I became more nervous about the prospect of rising interest rates in the US and the impact of trade tensions. Then there was the point that, in the US, once tax cuts have been introduced and the feel-good effect has gone through the economy and equities markets, what next? So this year, after a big washout late in the year, you might expect that this is the year of bargain hunting. Yes, it is true that those who buy well will be getting in at prices that are sharply lower than they were six months ago but the question of whether this represents good…

From pet food to motor vehicles, retailers have approached online opportunities with the same attitude as the apocryphal man with a hammer who finds all problems are a nail. The biggest questions for long-term investors in retail are: How much spending will migrate online? What products are likely to see the greatest online penetration and therefore which brick-and-mortar sellers are likely to see the greatest disruption? We have already seen what has happened to music and book retailing, which are the categories with the largest online penetration. The answers to these questions will affect a very large part of the Australian market and certainly many investors’ portfolios thanks to the familiarity of some of Australia’s best brands. In the US, investment bank UBS estimates “online” will grow from about 13%…

Rank Super funds have been ranked by five-year returns. Returns are net of maximum fees. High balances may qualify for lower fees and thus better returns. Rankings for one-, three-, and seven-year returns show the performance of the particular fund compared with peers. NP means membership of the fund is restricted. Pr means performance results are preliminary. Returns are as at November 30, 2018. SuperRatings rating Platinum are best value for money funds; Gold are good value for money; Silver, reasonable value; Bronze are below average in performance and features; and Blue are bottom of the ladder.…

What was your first job? As a teenager growing up in Adelaide I worked at Myer, my time split between counting and recording cash in the office and selling Lego in the toy department! It taught me the value of money, and how much easier it is to work with products you know well. What’s the best money advice you’ve ever received? Save hard from an early age with a goal in mind. Then invest in assets that appreciate in value, while paying down debt as quickly as you can. Understand your appetite for risk, and don’t be afraid of taking on debt to fund and fuel growth – and then pay down that debt as quickly as you can. What’s the best investment decision you’ve made? To continually push…

I have been reading with interest the recent commentary on the changed lending behaviours by our banks. I find it intriguing how there is almost a sense of indignation about how the spending behaviour of loan applicants is now being scrutinised and pared back. To be honest, if I were seeking to re-finance in this climate I would find it somewhat humiliating as well. But the reality is that this indignation is merely based on a recent history of lax lending by banks. How quickly we have been normalised to the idea of easy credit! We now think we can just skip down to the bank whenever we want and waltz back with a few hundred thousand dollars to buy our dream home. Think how much better off we would…

Last year, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) removed two of the restrictions it had imposed on banks which had made it harder for investors to buy property. In the first half of the year, APRA ended the cap on investor loan growth. A 10% benchmark was introduced in 2014 but APRA felt that this measure had achieved its desired outcome. Later in the year it also removed its restriction on interest-only residential mortgages which was originally set at a benchmark of 30% of all new loans. This measure well and truly achieved its goal as new interest-only loans are currently about 16% of all new loans. The big question is whether this loosening of the reins by APRA will revive property prices. The answer is probably not. The scrapping…

Kogan has made its foray into the financial services space, introducing a range of home loans. There are fixed and variable options available to both owner-occupiers and investors and they are funded by Adelaide Bank and Pepper Group. Variable rates start at 3.69%pa for owner-occupiers and 3.89%pa for investors. Customers have the option of adding a 100% offset account for a monthly fee. Commonwealth Bank and its subsidiary Bankwest now offer customers access to Apple Pay. Until now ANZ has been the only one of the big banks to offer the service but it was available to customers of smaller institutions such as Bendigo Bank, HSBC, ING and Suncorp, to name a few. Want to rent out a room in your house to make some extra cash but having lodgers on…

As parents grow older, they may require additional care and can find it hard to continue to maintain their own home. To deal with that, increasing numbers are moving into “granny flats” within the homes of their children. That way, the parent maintains a degree of independent living while having family carers on hand if required. Unfortunately, this arrangement can have unforeseen and substantial tax consequences for the child. In a typical scenario, the parent might sell her own home. She will then pay a substantial sum of money to a son or daughter for the right to live in a granny flat within the child’s property for the rest of her life. Often both parties will put in place a legal agreement to formalise the arrangement and to provide…

Brad Krauskopf Founder and part-owner of Hub Australia. Age 41; lives in Fitzroy, Melbourne, with his wife Kerry and child. Wanted to be an entrepreneur when he grew up. First job was publishing a school newsletter. First investing experience was buying a one-bedroom unit in Richmond; dabbled in shares but lost money in the dot-com crash of 2000. Chills by watching “trashy” TV with his wife Kerry and taking long walks. His business Hub competes against global co-working giant WeWork.…

William, your experience with your mum sounds difficult and sad. It’s a reminder that our life and financial circumstances can be overturned in an instant where we re-evaluate what is important to us. I think you’ve already identified many of your primary financial goals. Like many of my clients, you want to financially support your lifestyle and plan for retirement. It’s good to see that you have already reduced your expenses. Shopping around for better deals can be a difficult and daunting process initially but is worth the effort. Put a note in your diary to do it again in 18 to 24 months to keep your providers on their toes. How you budget depends on your personality. Engineers and accountants tend to use spreadsheets. Most people would rather visit…

I am 42 and have been salary sacrificing into super now for around five years, with a balance of around $250,000. After watching numerous co-workers lose a lot of super during the GFC, I’m worried about the outlook for the future with the way the sharemarket is going. Currently I invest my super 60/40 growth and high risk. I can change those investments into cash easily online at any time. Would this be a good strategy for preservation come a bigger downturn in the market? Ben If only I had a better crystal ball, Ben! Both you and I would have so much more money if we could get our market timing right. For me, anyway, the trouble is that I can only do this in hindsight. Paul’s verdict: If market timing was…

This time last year I wrote: “The secret to profiting from real estate will lie in understanding that Australia has many different property markets – and some of them will be rising strongly in 2018, even as the most high-profiles ones are fading.” As we expected, Sydney and Melbourne markets went into decline but other capital cities, including Hobart and Canberra, showed good growth. Moderate increases were recorded in Adelaide and Brisbane, while Perth showed the first signs of recovery. This time last year I wrote: “Key regional cities will be among the strongest of the nation’s growth markets … regional markets in the eastern states, in particular, will do well in 2018, headed by the Hunter region in NSW, regional centres close to Melbourne like Ballarat in the north…

3 STANDOUT LOCATION: Townsville: The Sunshine Coast has led Queensland markets, thanks to projects totalling $20 billion. Townsville is poised to do similar things, with over $25 billion in infrastructure and other projects under way or planned, generating thousands of jobs and driving recovery in the previously depressed property market. 2018 reviewed Moreton Bay LGA: The Brisbane market remains stuck in second gear but the cheap suburbs in the far north have moved faster. Many suburbs had 300 to 500 house sales in 2018 and some had price growth in the 8%-12% range, well above Brisbane averages. Brisbane hasn’t joined the Sydney/ Melbourne boom because it has lacked the growth drivers evident in the biggest cities. But many of the ducks are falling into line for Brisbane, with the underlying…

Hobart was the leading capital city for price growth and time on market in 2018 (according to most research sources), while regional Tasmania also ranked nationally on price performance. This has sprung out of a marked improvement in the Tasmanian economy – traditionally it has ranked eighth and last among the states and territories (CommSec’s State of the States report) but in the past two years it has risen to No. 4. Hotspotting analysis of sales activity indicates that Hobart has passed its peak and price growth is likely to be lower in 2019. But regional areas, headed by Launceston, will continue to deliver good growth, with investors attracted by the potential to buy houses below $300,000 at good rental yields. A feature of Hobart’s market is the very low…

1. Moving is distressing for an older person and ideally we want to move only once. Will this be possible in your village? 2. Can you match your services to our requirements and will you continue to be able to do so as we age and our health declines? 3. Will our financial commitment increase over time? 4. Can we be forced to move out if our health deteriorates? 5. If so, who determines this and how much time will we be given to move? 6. We may need our exit fee in order to move into aged care. How long will repayment of that fee take? 7. If one of us dies or moves into aged care, can the other stay in the same retirement unit?…

Serina Bird is a proud frugalista who has amassed $1 million through frugal living. Money has five copies of Serina’s soon-to-be-released book, The Joyful Frugalista (Murdoch Books, RRP $29.99, on sale February 4), to give away. For your chance to win a copy, tell us in 25 words or less your best tip for frugal living. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send your entry to Money magazine, GPO Box 4088, Sydney NSW 2001. Entries open January 28, 2019 and close on February 27, 2019.…

• 130,000 properties in Australia are listed with Airbnb, with 5 million globally. • Depending on the location, an Airbnb listing could add several thousand dollars or more a month to your annual earnings. • Income from an Airbnb-listed property isn’t extra spending money and you must pay tax on it. • To help guests feel at home, stock up on soap, shampoo, toilet paper, bed linen and towels. There are also insurance, utility and cleaning costs to factor into the management expenses of maintaining a listing. • Airbnb offers a host guarantee that ensures any damage to your property or possessions caused by a guest, up to $US1 million ($1.33 million), is covered. • Airbnb pockets a 3% commission from owners for each booking and up to 20% from…

The statistics are damning when it comes to women and super. They retire with 47% less super than men and a third retire in poverty. There are many reasons for this dismal outcome: the pay gap (women working full time earn 18% less than men) and women also have interrupted careers and broken work patterns thanks to bearing and raising children. The situation is more grim for older single women: 40% live in poverty and experience economic insecurity in retirement; 8.5% of those aged between 65 and 74 still have a mortgage. For some women, more dire matters are at stake, like life and death itself, with an average of one woman killed in Australia each week by her partner or ex-partner. Late last year Kelly O’Dwyer, the Minister for…

Given the raft of negative events that emerged late last year, investors have no doubt become used to treading warily. Our sharemarket – like most around the world – was riding high in late August, hitting decade highs, before the jitters crept in. One of the jitters concerned the outlook for the US economy given the determination of the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. And these jitters were even more heightened late in the year when the government securities yield curve flattened. In the past, a narrowing of the gap between short- and longer-term interest rates has been regarded as a recession marker. So it is somewhat appropriate that this edition of Money hits the newsstands just as the Federal Reserve hands down its latest monetary policy decision. The…

Each new year brings the opportunity to re-set and to do something different. So this year in Money I’ll be combing every sector of the ASX (and doing a little arbitrary readjustment to highlight some key sectors and opportunities) to bring you my best idea from each. To be clear, I don’t think you necessarily need to have “one of everything” but it’s a good opportunity to explore how each sector works, the risks and opportunities, and the companies that look best among their peers. We’re kicking the year off with discretionary retail. As the name implies, these are mass-market businesses that rely on convincing us to part with our hard-earned cash for something we can live without. It differs from “consumer staples” like Woolworths (ASX: WOW) and Coles (COL) –…